Sales & Marketing

Trust can mean different things to different people. Trust is also a function of both character and competence. To demonstrate trust, we need to see it in action. For some advisors, establishing and extending trust can be accomplished quite quickly. If there is trust between an advisor and a client, you’ll see more effective communication and collaboration, and of course, …

Ongoing management: Low performers, mid-level performers and even high performers need it. It does not assume high performance, and once high performing, it does not assume it will always continue. Everyone needs to be managed on a consistent basis. In sales, the goal of ongoing management is participation rate. Participation rate is the percentage of sales team members who are …

Headlines related to the Affordable Care Act and the new healthcare and insurance landscape seem to change more often than the weather. But one thing seems certain in its uncertainty: The future of Medicare Advantage plans. A recent online article stated that, “Because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans are paying higher …

These days, so much of our everyday exchanges happen online. Sure, it’s convenient, but not always the most appropriate venue for an insurance sale to take place. I happen to work with Medicare Supplements, and I find that phone calls are vastly underrated in terms of a way to close those sales. Initiating applications by phone actually makes great sense …

Would you like to get referrals without even asking for them?  Would you like to get referrals much sooner in your new client relationships?  If so, then you need to think “process” over “products.”  Just selling a product or signing someone up will make you some money, but it’s unlikely to make your referable and create word of mouth … …

I’m currently consulting for a fairly large insurance agency. While conducting a one-on-one coaching session with one of their sales representatives, I offered some advice that many salespeople–or anyone for that matter–can benefit from. And it starts with this: Get out of your own way! This was the situation. Zach (not his real name) was struggling. He had some personal …

Several years ago, when I was managing an insurance office, I was interviewing a prospective sales rep who I felt had great potential as an agent. Throughout the interviewing process, she was articulate, impeccably dressed, and demonstrated excellent people skills. I was convinced that I had found a real superstar. Shortly after she was hired, my new agent invited me …

The only way for a company to find out if its marketing is performing is to doubt everything it’s doing. Instead of guessing, jumping from one initiative to another, hoping for the best, or taking advice without knowing how to evaluate it, start at the beginning by questioning your assumptions, your expectations, your personal preferences, and, particularly, your perceptions of …

Why is it that some sales reps consistently earn a six-figure annual income while other reps, putting in the same hours, selling the same products, and trained by the same sales manager struggle each month financially to make ends meet? The answer to this question is painfully simple: The six-figure sales reps understand the importance of business development and never …

So how do you approach friends and others about the work you do with the goal of getting referrals? One of the major challenges is that they haven’t directly experienced the value of your work. So basically, you are not yet “referable” in their eyes. How do you become referable with them? Obviously, it would be great if they became …